Voice of America
24 Feb 2021, 05:35 GMT+10
The European Union and the World Health Organization teamed with the international advocacy organization Global Citizen on Tuesday to host a virtual panel discussion on global recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The webcast included leaders from the United States and the African Union, as well as actors and musicians seeking to solicit donations from organizations and individuals. The effort aims to set the stage for the world to bounce back from the pandemic, addressing issues such as vaccine equity, world hunger, the climate crisis and international aid.
In her comments, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed a call by French President Emmanuel Macron's to donate vaccines to health care workers in Africa.
"Vaccines must reach all corners of the planet as soon as possible," she said.
The EU has contributed an additional $606.3 million to the WHO-backed COVAX vaccine cooperative program to supply COVID-19 shots to emerging economies, doubling the bloc's contribution. Last week, the Biden administration pledged $4 billion to the program.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry made comments from his office in Washington, saying the recovery discussion represents a "bold plan of action" to get the world through and beyond the pandemic. He said protecting the planet should be part of that plan.
South African President and African Union chairman Cyril Ramaphosa urged wealthy countries to donate 5% of their vaccine supplies to needy countries, particularly on the African continent.
Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish said the pandemic forced her to cancel a world tour after just three shows last year. But she said the pandemic has demonstrated how quickly people adapt. She threw her support behind vaccine equity and urged others to do the same.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also talked about vaccine equity, saying that just two countries account for half of the 210 million doses administered so far in the world.
Get a daily dose of Hong Kong Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Hong Kong Herald.
More InformationDHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person...
MOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...
LONDON, U.K.: This week, BP appointed Simon Henry, former Shell finance chief, to its board as a non-executive director effective September...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...